Plastic traveler



Aug. 17, 1943. w, M, CAMP v2,326,830

PLASTIC TRAVELER Filed March 3l, 1942 IN VEN TOR.

V//V//am /7 fam/0 l Patented Aug. 17, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PLASTIC TRAVELER William M. Camp, Glen Ridge, N. J., assignor to The Clark Thread Company, Newark, N. J., a. corporation of New Jersey Application March 31, 1942, serial No. 436,961

, s claims. 01. 57-125) ditions of good lubrication, wear takes place on the traveler and also on the ring and thev fine particles of metal which are worn oil become embedded in the grease and are subsequently oxidized and thus form visible stains on the yarns or threads. These stains consist of oxides, carbonates, soaps, etc., of the respective traveler and ring metals, and are very dimcult to remove in the ordinary processes of kier-boiling and bleaching.

Many attempts have been made to make travelers of materials, other than steel and bronze, using materials including hard rubber and glass. These materials, however, have not been satisfactory because of their brittleness and poor resistance against wear.

It is an object of this invention to provide a traveler possessing properties which have long been sought, including the following:

1. A longer life than steel or bronze travelels.

2. Requiring less lubrication than steel or bronze travelers or no lubrication.

3. Producing little or no wear on the steel ring and therefore obviating the contamination of the yarn or thread referred to above.

4. Corrosion resistance, to avoid corrosion in wet twisting.

The invention will be further described by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 shows one type of conventional ring with a traveler mounted thereon;

Fig. 2 shows a traveler for use with the ring of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 shows another type of conventional ring with a traveler mounted thereon; and

Fig. 4 shows a traveler for use with the ring shown in Fig. 3.

In accordance with this invention travelers are made from polystyrene. The art of polymerizingstyrene to obtain polystyrene is known and no details of the technique, including the control of molecular weight, need be given. They may be varied by those skilled in the art to obtain, in the light of this disclosure and invention, a polymer meeting the preferred criteria of said invention. These criteria are brieily resiliency, shock resistance, abrasion resistance and corrosion resistance. Resiliency is required because the jaws of the traveler are usually sprung apart in mounting it on the ring. Tougl'lness Aand impact or shock resistance are required to avoid undue breakage. Abrasion resistance is required to avoid undue wear. Corrosion re-` sistance is -desired to avoid corrosion in wet twisting.

Travelers may be made in numerous shapes and since these structural details are well known, no details thereof need be given.

The travelers may be molded, particularly by the injection molding process, or machined, cut or stamped from rods, slabs or the like.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the stock from which the travelers are cut may be extruded or extrusion-molded by using an extrusion die having such a shape that the extruded stock has the same transverse cross section as that of the desired traveler so that the latter may be made by cutting the extruded stock in planes perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said stock.

In some cases, it may be desired to provide the traveler with a metallic core. This may be done by using a steel or alloy core and molding a polystyrene polymer molding composition around that core so that the latter is embedded in the resulting molded product.

What is claimed is:

l. A traveler, the wearing surface of which comprises polystyrene.

2. A traveler composed essentially of polystyrene.

3. A traveler having a metallic core and a wearing surface composed essentially of polystyrene.

WILLIAM M. CAMP. 

